November 2011 - Strathblane and Blanefield Website

MINUTES OF STRATHBLANE COMMUNITY COUNCIL
2nd Draft Monday 7 th November 2011 in the school
Members Present: - Margaret Vass, Alan Hutton, Willie Oswald, Marian Lever, John
Gray, Richard Arnold, Philip Graves, Fiona Murray, Elspeth Posnett.
In attendance: - Cllr Graham Lambie, PC Tony Cummins & Gordon Ash SCDT.
+ 18 members of the community.
(SC = Stirling Council. CC = Community Council. CDT= Community Development Trust *
Denotes an action)
1. Welcome from Chair and apologies:
Margaret welcomed all to the meeting . Apology received from Mike McNulty and PC
David McNally
2. Conflict of interest for noting: - there were no conflicts to note.
3. Minutes of August meeting:
Two issues were raised from the floor and changes agreed to the minutes in the
section “Issues from the Community”:
a) Alan Morris –para 3 said he had said “ some serious issues need addressing”.
b) Para 3- delete “----and that his wife who is involved with the CDT had said that
negative questions were raised at their last meeting too.”
Minutes approved by FM and seconded by EP.
4. Matters Arising
a) Marian Lever had attended the recent Forth Valley Health Board Annual Review. A
query regarding the ambulance service elicited the response that this was still
under review. It had, however, been decided that ambulance transport would be
provided only in cases where there was clinical need. Other (out)patients would
have to use public transport. ML asked for a response re this as public transport
from our area for sick and disabled patients was a real problem. ML will relay a
response when she receives it.
WO was concerned about who would define “clinical need”.
b) ML had attended a fruitful meeting with the Lunch Club. Volunteers had asked for
a proposal to the council that they not only improve the service, but that volunteers
could prepare meals themselves 5 days per week, with frozen only for the
weekend. There were enough volunteers to do this. SC responded by saying that
the planned frozen meal service was being implemented with a slow roll out from
March 2012, but volunteer meal delivery from the school kitchen would be
considered. An officer will be appointed to look at this. A food shopping service is
also being actively progressed.
c) ML said that the independent living service has been praised by clients for the
service they receive in their homes. Frozen meal drivers have been briefed to keep
an eye out for the welfare of clients when they are delivering.
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d) EP has had a discussion with a neighbour who has had greenery overhanging the
pavement and it has been cut back a little. Another neighbour living adjacent to the
post box at the foot of Kirkhouse Rd and who also owns the verge where it stands
has agreed to look into the possibility of slabs being laid to gain access to the post
box.
e) Alistair Smith queried the stated possibility of legal action against the Blane,
mooted at last months meeting. Was this still likely? MV said that the CC had
unanimously agreed to send a letter signed collectively deploring the stand taken
by the Blane.
f) JG clarified correspondence he had had with Glengoyne distillery regarding
walkers’ parking. The main car park is for visitors to the distillery and another piece
of ground has been provided by Duntreath Estate for walkers car parking –approx
12 spaces. This has not been opened yet.
5. Police Report – from PC David McNally, read by PC Tony Cummins
The past month had been relatively quiet. Three or four issues of note had arisen and
these are detailed in the report extract in appendix I on the website
www.strathblanefield.org.uk
6. Draft Local Development Plan/Open Space Strategy - John Gray Planning
Correspondent.
JG gave a power point presentation which covered the following headings:
History and Progress including the community council's submissions in
response to last year's Main Issues Report. Stirling Council had voted to prolong
the consultation period, so that what we have now is a 'Draft Proposed Local
Development Plan'. In principle, this gives more opportunity for local input and
changes. Consultation on this draft is open from 24 October to 16 December
2011.
The draft LDP is a big document, setting out a vision for the future of the whole
Stirling planning area for the twenty years to 2033. A copy of the draft plan is in
the Library for reference, and numerous documents of background are on
Stirling's website. There are statements of an Overarching policy, then a number
of 'primary policies' and 'policies'. Sustainability criteria are defined that apply
across all policies.
The draft LDP presents a general approach to the rural area that does not involve
large scale expansion. With regard to Strathblane & Blanefield, nearly all of the
sites considered for potential development in the Main Issues Report have been
dropped. However, the planners propose that up to 50 homes could be created in
"Singh's field" (first field on right, Campsie Road). At least 50% of homes in the
rural area should be 'affordable'. Council research suggests that housing is
needed across the Stirling area to attract/retain younger people and avoid simply
haveing an ageing population.
The Green Belt would be moved to allow the development on Campsie Road,
and around Auchineden/Carbeth there would be some re-drawing of the Green
Belt, though we cannot see a map yet. Also a change proposed to the green belt
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at the "devil's elbow" and along the Cuilt Road. Green Belt will be unchanged
elsewhere, especially at Campsie Dene Road and Mugdock Village, and the
policy wording around the Green Belt seems much clearer, leaving less room for
developers to push for inappropriate developments.
More information will be available at Stirling's 'drop-in' session tomorrow (8th
Nov) and comments on the proposals have to be submitted by 16th December.
The CC is holding a consultation meeting specifically on the Draft LDP in the
School on the 23rd November at 7.30. This meeting and any written submissions
received will help the CC decide its recommendations based on the outcome of
discussions about the plan.
Ian Swann who lives opposite "Singh's" field was concerned about the possible
number of houses which might be built - it seemed hardly possible to build 50
houses there when it was supposed to be low density development with
affordable housing. He wanted to know if the proposed new cemetery was
beyond the thin line of trees which defined the boundary of the area. This was
confirmed. The draft plan proposes to 'beef up' the line of trees, to make a firmer
boundary against further encroachment. Various other comments were made re
the type of housing and that house types would be in keeping with the area..
Patsy Fischbacher asked if any policy had been established regarding extensions
to existing homes. JG indicated that he didn't see anything like that in the draft
plan, and that this could be raised at the public meeting. The current policy is to
ensure adequate low cost housing for the populations - the council's research
indicates there are adequate houses at present at the higher price range.
It was stressed that it was important that residents attend the public
meeting on the 23rd Nov, and inform themselves as much as possible
about the proposals in advance.
An Open Space Strategy which is also up for discussion in parallel with the draft
LDP. This will also be open for consultation at the drop-in session tomorrow. A
map produced by SC was displayed, and various "omissions" pointed out.
7. Communications Strategy –from Allan Hutton
At its fourth meeting the Group’s Agenda, was concerned to pursue further action
to implement the outline strategy agreed by SCC at its August meeting. In this
note we report on developments on a number of fronts highlighted in that Report
and raise one new proposal for the consideration of the Community Council.
1. Updates
a. Strathblanefield Website
We see the village website as the central long-term channel in our
pluralist strategy for two-way communication between the SCC and our
community. The WG noted important developments in the establishment
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of Discussion Forums and of links with social media sites. We discussed
ways of stimulating more community engagement with the site by both by
village organizations and community members in general.
Resourcing the website is always an issue and the WG welcomed the
possibility of further technical help for our webmaster and agreed we
should go ahead to increase the number of moderators for the discussion
forums. Some funding may be useful to help support training. A number
of further lines of action will be pursued by the webmaster and others
involved with the site.
b. Village Information Leaflet
The target date for the distribution of a village information leaflet to all
households will now be ‘early in the new ear’. The main remaining hurdle
lies in establishing something as close as possible to a definitive list of
village organizations with contact information.
c. Noticeboards
It was noted that with the development of a community Emergency
Plan we now had a good chance of filling a gap in our noticeboard network
in Blanefield. It was decided that the CC should try to make better use of
the noticeboard outside the Library.
d. Welcome Pack
It was agreed that Marian Lever should be asked to lead this
development.
2. A Newsheet for our Villages?
Part of the CSWG’s approach in its earlier review of village communication
channels was to identify ‘gaps’ and consider ways of filling them. Two
important gaps – one of longstanding and one which has recently emerged –
now require a response.
The first is a ‘gap’ in communications that might affect many village
organizations. Community members require timely notice of upcoming events
and developments, and issues of community concern. For those who use
them noticeboards and shop windows offer one channel of information. The
Blane – a 3 monthly publication – may work well as a journal of record and
village heritage but cannot work as an up-to-date diary. In the long run the
village website – by far the best medium for these purposes – will assume an
increasing role. At the moment, however, it has two important limitations
which will take a little while to tackle (and may never be wholly overcome):
some organizations do not use it as fully as they might or keep it up to date
and, more important, many citizens are not yet internet active.
The second, newly emerged, ‘gap’ is a particular concern to the
Community Council whose successful operation depends on clear and
accurate two-way communication with community members on the range of
issues that emerge. Whilst as a Council we can, and do, make full use of the
website and the noticeboards, these have the limitations noted above. In the
past we have (on a three monthly basis at least) been able to rely on †he
Blane – which has the merit of reaching every household – to take our reports
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on the issues and activities in which the SCC is engaged. Sadly over the last
year that form of communication has become more difficult. Recently The
Blane has offered increasingly distorted (and oppositional) coverage of the
work of the SCC and of the important community issues it is dealing with. It
did not publish our report in the last issue.
The CSWG is of the view that the best way to address these two
significant communication gaps would be through the establishment of a
community newssheet – perhaps 2 to 4 sides of A4 paper in size –
independent of the SCC, and to be delivered to every household on a monthly
basis. It would complement The Blane and offer to those who don’t currently
access the website some of the benefits of up-to-date accurate information on
community events, activities and issues. It could provide a up-to-date Diary of
Events and short reports on current activities and issues. It could incorporate
the present bi-monthly Newsletter of the SCDT and might well involve cooperation
with other significant community bodies such as the churches.
PROPOSAL
The SCC is asked:
1. to approve, in principle, the idea of a community Newsletter; and
to agree to a feasibility study to be undertaken by members of the CSWG. That study
would investigate, inter alia, costing; funding sources; an editorial group; relationship
with SCC and SCDT; relationship with the website; frequency; and delivery
mechanism. It would report back, initially, to the SCC at its December meeting.
Much discussion followed with Edward Pickard wondering whether
differences between the Blane and the CC could not be patched up. The
CCview was that they would like to do so but that the issues separating the
parties were so wide that they were not optimistic about a solution. The
magazine needed to address its editorial policy and its standards if it wants to
be a mouthpiece for the community. The Blane had repeatedly insisted it was
not a part of the action plan in the communications startegy.
In any case the Blane which came out quarterly was not regular enough for a
vehicle to communicate forthcoming events and information which had to be
disseminated by the CC. The CC needed a vehicle to do this on a
regular(monthly) basis.
From the floor Patsy Fischbacher said the Blane had promoted the CC since
1998 and she had done everything personally to assist in this aim.
Finalizing the discussions, AH said that there were two issues:
a) Resolving relations with the Blane
b) Investigate the practicalities and technical issues of a regular newssheet
and its distribution – a feasibility study at this time.
8. Emergency Plan – from Margaret Vass.
MV, WO & EP attended a seminar for CC’s last Saturday. Details from this would be
placed on the web site soon.
In an emergency or extreme weather situation the plan is that Stirling Council will
contact agreed primary contacts who would then contact others to cascade the call-
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to-action in the villages. This could be, for instance, to mobilize pe-arranged
volunteers in all areas for tasks such as snow clearance and gritting in non-priority
areas. MV explained that the council has three levels of priority route for snow
clearance and routes other than these would not be dealt with by SC at an early date.
There was, however, a Tayforth community ring which included farmers who have
been issue with snow ploughs to clear non-priority routes. Salt should not be a
problem this year as a large stockpile exists.
Grit dumps will be established a key points around the village – at the school,
Brown’s, Campsie Dene Road end and at the bus stop at Station Road. This is NOT
for private driveways.
Refuse pull-out points have been established at various locations adjacent to priority
routes. These will be advised on the notice boards - A new board for location in
Blanefield village requires to be purchased. The location is to be discussed and
agreed. . Suggestions were close to the deli, bottom of Campsie Dene Rd or on land
adjacent to the closed public toilets.
A key feature of the council response has been that all relevant departments are
working together without demarcation for the good of the community.
Various other issues were discussed:
Request permission from the Kirkhouse to use its car park in snowy conditions.
Volunteers would need to clear the Edmiston Hall car park for lunch club access.
Other suggestion was finding the location of water stop cocks in the homes of elderly
in case of bursts.
All of Moor Road and Mugdock have been overlooked in the plan.
Despite requests from the CC it seems that priority routes cannot be amended.
Clearance of snow and gritting needs to be extrended from last year e.g. to encompass
Blanefiel Home.
Snow shovels will be provided by the council and will be located in th CC pavilion/hut
adjacent to the library. The key for this is thought to reside with Anne Scott. Four ride
on snow ploughs for community use have been purchased to clear pavements and
driver volunteers will be sought and given training.
The plan is nearly complete after two month’s work.
The CC agreed to complete a Community Pride application for the noticeboard in
Blanefield.
9. Financial matters – from Treasurer Fiona Murray.
An admin grant had been received of £416.71 and had been banked. The Current
account stands at £633.57 and the Gold account at £ 2720.17.
10. Current Planning applications – from Planning Correspondent John Gray
a) 11/00510/FUL Co-op planning application (Brown’s) approved. Query has been
raised re a sorting office within the plan.
b) 11/00516/FUL Auchineden – continuation of planning rule has been made. The
Dorran house cannot be demolished/ developed.
c) 11/00371/FUL Snack bar at the Queen’s view has been refused. The decision
was borderline and was based on lack of rubbish collection and toilets at the site.
11. Issues from the community
a) The lack of street lighting for 5 weeks in Park Place had been raised several times
with the council to no avail. This is causing problems for the elderly who live there
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and is encouraging mischief makers to congregate. Cllr Lambie has already been
made aware of this as an issue. If the problem is a power supply fault this may be
the cause of the delay as the power companies are slow to respond. WO will
contact Bruce Crawford re the matter.
b) Milndavie Road is permanently under water in wet weather as drains are set too
high. Residents should complain to the council, but Cllr Lambie will help, if copied
in. WO commented that that there were no automatic replies from SC when using
the myStirling reporting site. Cllr Lambie said that for a serious matter/ complaint
the SC “Talkback” facility could be used.
c) Richard Begg –Thanked the CC for saving the church cemetary bothy which had
nearly been demolished without consultation by SC as being “no longer required”
d) Lights are still burning in the closed public toilets - wasteful.
12. Elected Member report – from Cllr Graham Lambie.
Councillor Lambie gave a comprehensive statement regarding various matters in
our area and round about.This included Road Maintenance, Road Closures at
Arnprior,Drainage, Winter Maintenance, Police and Park Bylaws, Local
Development Plan, Planning matters,High hedges legislation, Renewable energy
and the meals service. All this and more can be read in the full report in
Appendix II in the web sitre www.strathblanefield.org.uk
13.Correspondence. – from Margaret Vass
a) Contact from Tesco (Milngavie) consultants offering to do a presentation at our Jan
2012 meeting re the proposed new store. Lobbying group We Love Milngavie
(WLM) have commissioned Page and Park to prepare an alternative scheme to
show Tesco how an enlarged store could be proprely integrated into Milngavie.
The current proposals are hardly changed from those recently rejected. There will
be publicity soon re a proposed boycott of Tesco in December as a protest about
their current proposals.
b) It needs to be established if there is a public holiday for the Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee. This may clash with our June CC meeting and AGM.
c) Queen’s Diamond Jubilee beacon/ bonfire in village. Involvement was approved.
d) Christmas tree lighting-up ceremony. – the school choir will attend as will the brass
section of the Dunbarton Wind Ensemble. This will take place on Tuesday 13 th
December at 7.00pm outside the Village Club.
e) PG advised that he had ordered slow-growing trees using a grant of £250
obtained for this purpose. He had planned that theses should be planted along the
railway cutting. There were complaints about this from the floor due to perceived
loss of view and loss of sunlight. It was pointed out that there had been a general
view against this location at the last CC meeting. Request that we see if order can
be cancelled, although we will lose the grant if we do this.
14. Date of next meeting - Monday 5 th December at 7.30 in the school.
ooo000ooo
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Appendix I
Police Report from PC McNally
Between 20th and 23rd October minor acts of vandalism were carried out on three separate cars
- one each in Southview Drive, Campsie Dene Road and Milndavie Crescent. The vandalism
involved one car having its wing mirror damaged, one being scratched and another having a
window broken. Any information on these matters should be passed to Pc McNally.
About 0500hrs on 28/10, a window was broken on one of the interior communal doors at
Netherblane. An unidentified male was seen at the time but police were not contacted until about
0730hrs same date regarding the issue. The matter is still under investigation.
Between 1/11/11 and 2/11/11 a battery was stolen from a set of temporary traffic lights on Cuilt
Road.
On three separate mornings during October I worked along with a number of pupils from the
primary school on a speeding initiative. The school were keen to become involved in order to
achieve an 'Eco Flag' with one of the criteria required being 'Safer Routes to School' . Speed
signs were deployed in Glasgow Road and the school children had made banners highlighting
the problem with speeding particularly in the mornings when children travel to school. The event
was very successful.
Over the past three weeks Balfron Police Officers have been working closely with Strathclyde
Police conducting road checks in an effort to catch and detect travelling criminals including bogus
workmen, scrap metal thieves and housebreakers. These checks will continue right through until
the end of December and possibly beyond (depending on crime trends).
Appendix II
Elected Members report
Forth and Endrick News - Strathblane - Monday, 7 th November 2011
Arnprior Balfron Buchanan Buchlyvie Croftamie Drymen Fintry Gargunnock Killearn
Kippen Strathblane
Councillor Lambie Report
• Road Maintenance Schedule Forth and Endrick Ward 2011-2012: There has
been a good increase in budget of £377,000 compared to the previous year. In
percentage terms this represents a 44% increase. Also, in previous years the road
maintenance schedule was split into 4 geographical areas – this year it is 3, which
I understand is a more efficient way of delivering the improvements. Completed
and planned roads improvement projects in Forth and Endrick, which may or may
not affect residents in Strathblane include: A875 Balfron Moor, A875 Lettre House,
and 7 projects on the A81 and A811. Unfortunately to complete some of these
project roads may have to be closed. The quickest way to check for these is:
www.stirling.gov.uk/roadclosures or type 'stirling council roadworks' into Google. I
have also requested that the roads schedule is sent to the Balfron local office
along with other information relevant to Forth and Endrick. Two other roads
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projects that are not featured in the council roads programme are: New ‘puffin’
traffic light on A81 in Strathblane, near primary school, and an additional car park
near Glengoyne Distillery to cater for walkers accessing Dumgoyne and West
Highland Way. I have met the landowner, contacted Distillery management and
roads service to get some progress on this. (Update for November Meeting: I
am very pleased to see that the traffic lights are fully operational and the car park
application at the Distillery has been approved. The roads schedule is also being
sent to the Balfron local office. I’ve also requested another roads inspection visit
with Stephen Todd (Area Roads Inspector) to look at the Forth and Endrick road
network and the criteria used in assessing future roads jobs. I have contacted the
roads department for an update on 3 specific roads – A81 Distillery to Blanefield,
Old Mugdock Road, and Kirkhouse Road).
• Road Closure(s) – A811 Arnprior: Although not in the Strathblane CC area this
closure may have affected card drivers from the Strathblane area. The main
reason for the closure was the re-surfacing equipment was too wide to allow larger
vehicle to pass. The roads officers have also sent me images of the equipment
used, which illustrated this. Also, as I understand it, the works were completed
well ahead of schedule.
• School Crossing – Report: I contacted Mrs Logan (Head Teacher) for feedback
from the school pupils and she has sent me some very positive quotes from them
which I have added to the end of this report. (Note: I checked with the school for
permission to do this).
• Road Drainage Issues – Forth and Endrick: I have been liaising with Peter
Turner (Area Officer) over a number of issues along the A811 and A81. These
range from water egress, drainage, and overhanging vegetation.Strathblane and
Forth and Endrick Winter Maintenance: The council set up an elected member
group to tackle the issue of severe weather. The group was extended to include 2
rural based community councillors. Currently there are two Strathblane CC
councillors on this and the feedback from Strathblane has been very positive. This
is seen very much as an empowerment process where the council can support
communities to help themselves during severe weather conditions. There is also
an acknowledgement that the council cannot do all of this work without the
community. CCs will or will have received information about this process and I am
also hoping that this will be the subject of an area forum meeting. (Update for
November meeting: The council has now produced its revised winter
maintenance policy and additional resources have been allocated to support this.
These include 20 snow ploughs to be supplied to local farmers, additional minigritter
tractors, pavement snow blowers, community size grit bins, and snow
shovels. Community councils should have been contacted about establishing a
community resilience plan to look at emergency planning for severe weather
conditions, mainly snow, ice and flooding. I understand that Strathblane CC are
very well advanced with this and I ‘m hoping they will be able to share their
development of this at future local area forums. Also, our primary and secondary
schools have already met on the above and we are confident that we can maintain
our policy that presumes against school closures, unless there are genuine health
& safety, and staff availability issues).
• Police Patrols and Park Bylaws: Following my previous CC meeting, I have
attended three police patrols in July with PC McNally and PC Faulds and in
September with PC Cummins and Sergeant MacFarlane. The principal areas we
were looking at included travelling crime, speeding, and the effect of the new
alcohol and rough camping legislation in the National Park area of East Loch
Lomondside. The patrol included a check on the fatality site at Fintry, and a walk
through Killearn - talking to local youngsters. The patrol also included a check of
the Queen’s View Carpark, and a vehicle check in Strathblane to target any
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travelling criminals, and vehicle offences. However, arguably the most significant
part of the patrol were visits to East Loch Lomondside to check the effect of the
new bylaws. The feedback I am getting from the police, park rangers, and local
residents is there has been a significant reduction in anti-social behaviour along
the Lochside. This has also been confirmed in a recent BBC article and Radio
Scotland interview with Park Officials. There is no doubt that this success is down
to a team approach involving communities, national park staff, police officers, and
others. Although this has been very much a team effort, I would wish to highlight
the contribution of Chief Inspector Findlater who I know has been making the case
for park bylaw legislation for a number of years.
• Local Development Plan – Drop In Sessions: I attended the first Forth and
Endrick Ward session in Kippen, which was very well attended with a number of
issues being raised including – housing mix, infrastructure, green/open space, tree
plantation, and
• Planning 1 - 11/00548/PPP - 3 houses on ground behind Auchencraig:
Having gone over the green belt policy this application does not appear to fit with
the current policy in both H10 and the LDP documents. Consequently, I am
expecting officers to recommend refusal but have placed a marker on this to allow
a future referral to the planning panel.
• Planning 2 – Thornhill 4 Wind Turbines: This was presented to the planning
panel with a recommendation to refuse from the planning officers. After a hearing
involving both applicant and objectors, followed by questions from the panel the
panel endorsed the decision to refuse. Although this application was not in my
ward, I was allowed to ask if neighbouring communities in the Forth and Endrick
ward had been consulted – specifically Kippen and Gargunnock as they would have
the most visual impact from them. The officers confirmed that these communities
had not been consulted and I raised this with the officer after the meeting. As the
application was not in my ward I remained neutral in my approach to this
application.
• Planning 3 – Craigievern Windfarm Proposal: Following my last Community
Council at Arnprior I have subsequently attended a number of CC meetings
including Balfron and Drymen meeting and the consultants - Banks Development
Ltd made a presentation. For information the proposal from Banks is to construct
an up to 20 turbine windfarm at Craigievern Farm near Drymen. This is on the
boundary of the National Park but within an area of search according to previous
Stirling Council guidelines on Windfarm development. I also note that these
guidelines indicate that the maximum turbine height appropriate for this site is up
to 50 metres. However, the developer’
s proposal is for turbines of 80 to 110
metres. The developers are proposing to speak to local communities impacted by
the development including those on the A811 – the proposed route of materials to
the site. ( Update for November Meeting: This is still at the scoping stage and
as yet is not a full planning application. I have been talking to elected members in
neighbouring wards and I understand that there are concerns from villages such
as Gartmore. There are parallels with the Ballindalloch application. However, the
principal difference is the current windfarm policy is much more specific about the
location and allowable heights of turbines. However, until this is an actual
application with specific turbine heights, elected members would not normally
make any public comments about the proposal.
• Planning 4 – Carron Valley Wind Farm (Partnership for Renewables): I
understand that this proposal may be visible from the Strathblane CC area
although the landmark identified in the report is Earls Seat, which is in the Killearn
CC area. The proposal is for 16 turbines with an installed capacity of 48 MW.
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• Balfron Recycling Facility: There have been concerns about the future of this
facility. I have a categorical assurance from the service that there are no plans to
remove this service. The council have put substantial resources into this facility
and it is widely used by residents and there are no plans to close it.
• Bag It and Bin It: The council have introduced an innovative campaign to
encourage dog owners to bag and bin their dog waste. The link is
www.stirling.gov.uk/bagitbinit and you can use any bag and you can put it in any
bin including a grey bin. This will mean that some red bins will be removed, but
only if there is a general waste bin nearby. The campaign will also go around
Stirling schools. The campaign is a very positive attempt to encourage dog owners
to dispose of the dog waste, however the £60 fine will still remain.
High Hedge Legislation: Mark McDonald MSP is leading on this and has set out his
intention to bring forward legislation to address long running neighbourhood disputes
on high hedges to Parliament. I submitted a report in 2009 to the consultation
process and have requested that the legislation looks at adding some form of
enforcement to the legislation, which could be implemented by a local planning
authority. (Update for November Meeting: I have contacted Mark about this and
asked if public sites such as at the side of the A81 would be considered in any
legislation).
• Stirling Council – Renewable Energy Projects: The council are looking to
install a range of renewable technologies in a number of their public buildings
including council houses, schools, and waste treatment facilities. This technology
is being installed to assist with the council’s fuel poverty agenda and to address
the income generation target set at the 2011 council budget meeting.
• Meals Service: I have asked Maureen Dryden (Service Manager) for an update
on this. There have been considerable concerns at the proposed changes and with
respect to Strathblane, there has been a request from the community to maintain
the existing service, which continues to work well. (Update for November
Meeting: I called Maureen today, and the service is very happy to work with the
Strathblane volunteers with resources coming from the change fund. I also
understand that the service is considering meal preparation at Strathendrick Care
Home Balfron. I’ve queried this in relation to the position at the primary school.
The education service has confirmed that Strathblane will remain a production
kitchen. (Note: I’ve asked for Pam (Campbell) for an update on this at the next
area forum meeting).
• Other Issues:
• Quarry Mud on A81: I have contacted the enforcement officer about
this and suggested a site visit with the contractor and PC McNally
• Footpath Condition – West End of Village: This issue has been
passed onto Stephen Todd with a request that this be considered
alongside the traffic speed mitigation measures.
• Councillor Colin O’Brien:
For the minute I would like to record my appreciation for the work and dedication put
in by Colin as a Councillor, Provost, and Bailie. He has also had the unenviable job of
timetabling the rota to ensure that an elected member is in attendance at the 11
community councils in the Forth and Endrick ward. As provost of Stirling, Colin raised
the profile of Stirling in not only Scotland but also overseas, including accompanying
the Wallace sword to New York in 2005 for the Tartan Week celebration – the first
time the sword had left Scotland in 700 years.
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Councillor Graham Lambie
Stirling Council
Old Viewforth
Stirling FK8 2ET 0845 277 7000 lambieg@stirling.gov.uk
School Crossing – Comments from Strathblane Primary School Pupils:
I contacted Mrs Logan (Head Teacher) and she sent these comments from the pupils,
which she was happy for me to share with the community council.
"It feels much safer now."
"Cars are stopping now because it's a red light"
"It's much better than it was before"
"I feel much safer because before the lights were there I felt that I chancing my life
hoping that cars would stop and sometimes they screeched to a stop about one
meter from you. Now my sister and me feel safer crossing the road"
"It's a lot easier. You don't have to worry about the cars going straight through"
"I've never seen a car driving through the red light but I always saw cars driving
straight through the zebra crossing"
"I was at the meeting about trying to get the new crossing and I said that we don't
want cars to slow down, we want them to stop, and now they do stop and my mum
lets me walk to school on my own now."
We've also taken children to the crossing to teach them how to use the crossing
safely, and P.C. McNally and pupils have been on speed watch for three mornings
(pupils, and staff reported for duty at 8:15a.m.) to encourage cars to slow down as
they drove through the village.
The Parent Council have discussed the positive impact that this has had on making
the community feel safer about crossing a main road.
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